30 Hour Famine: Teens Fast For World Vision Campaign

30 Hour Famine: Teens Fast For World Vision Campaign

Teenage students in Roswell, Ga., joined half a million teens nation-wide for 30 hours of fasting, collecting donations and performing community service to support World Vision's 30 Hour Famine. This annual event has raised $135 million since 1992 -- to bring both food to the poorest of countries and awareness of world hunger to privileged U.S. students.

Alex Ferrand and other teens in Roswell duct taped cardboard boxes together to make shelter for themselves to sleep in during the night. Ferrand felt cold and hungry as he tried to sleep and said, "I'm happy for the things I have and for [my] friends and family."

Group leader Katie McPhee acknowledges, "while this is a great experience for us -- for others it's a way of life...[many people] don't know when their next meal is coming, or if it's coming [at all]." After hours outside, in below freezing temperatures, McPhee decided it was safest to move the students back inside.

In the morning, students planted 13,000 plastic forks to represent every child under five who dies from hunger every day. Roswell students hoped to match every fork with a $1 donation. World Vision estimates that $1 is the amount needed to feed and care for a child in the developing world in a single day.

After 30 hours of fasting, work and reflection, the students sat down for a big meal and discussed their relative fortune.

WATCH:

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot